CHAPTER 7 Strategic Management LEARNING OBJECTIVES These will include: • Explain the concept of strategic management and identify three main levels of strategy. • Outline the major components of the strategic management process. • Describe the role competitive analysis of in strategy formulation and explain the major approaches to such analysis. • Describe Porter’s competitive strategies for the business level. • Enumerate the main generic strategies available at the corporate level. • Explain the role of strategies at the functional level. • • Explain the three major portfolio-strategy approaches for use at the corporate level. Outline the process strategy implementation. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-1 of IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-2 I. The Concept of Strategic Management Teaching Idea: Ask students to update the strategic direction of companies described in this chapter. Ask them to select a company and assess its strategic direction. A. Strategic management is a process through which managers formulate and implement strategies geared to optimising strategic goal achievement, given available environmental and internal conditions. 1. Strategies are large-scale action plans for interacting with the environment in order to achieve long-term goals. 2. Most well-run organisations attempt to develop and follow strategies. B. The strategic management process is made up of several components. 1. Strategy formulation is the part of the strategic management process that includes the following: • • • Identifying mission and strategic goals. Conducting competitive analysis. Developing specific strategies. 2. Strategy implementation is the part of the strategic management process that focuses on: • • Carrying out strategic plans. Maintaining control over how those plans are carried out. C. Strategic management is important to organisations because it does the following: 1. Helps organisations identify and develop a competitive advantage, a significant edge over the competition in dealing with competitive forces. 2. Provides a sense of direction so organisation members know where to expend their efforts. 3. Helps highlight the need for innovation and provides an organised approach for encouraging new ideas related to strategies. Enrichment Module: “Global Strategy” 4. May have a positive effect on the organisation's financial performance. D. Many organisations develop strategies at three different levels. 1. Corporate-level strategy is developed by top management and the board of directors and addresses the following issues: • • • What businesses the organisation will operate. How the strategies of those businesses will be co-ordinated to strengthen the organisation's competitive position. How resources will be allocated between businesses. 2. Corporate Level strategy often involves the board of directors. • Board involvement can range from approval of strategic directions (low) to actual participation in formulation (high). IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-3 • The board can usually be most helpful by advising on new directions for growth, suggesting when major strategic changes are needed, and providing input on the timing of major investments. Campbell Soup Company’s Board of Directors are intensely involved in the company’s plans and performance. The Board reviews and approves annually Campbell’s three year strategic plans and one-year operating goals. The board evaluates the performance of the CEO at least annually without the CEO present. In a 1995 self-evaluation, the board concluded that there was a need for broadening and diversifying the skills of the directors, spend more time on long-range strategic planning, and improve the quality of director participation and committee reports. The company has implemented these directives by rotating directors on committees and upgrading the quality and substance of the reports, increasing the frequency and length of strategy sessions, and called for active, constructive, and objective director participation. It has made a remarkable change. Given the strong level of board involvement with stringent rules has earned the company No 1 spot on Business Week’s Best Board honour roll. (Business Week, November 25, 1996, “The Best and the Worst”) 3. Business-level strategy concentrates on the best means of competing within a particular business while also supporting the corporate-level strategy • • T33: Strategy Formulation/ Strategy Implementation: A flowchart of the strategic process. See fig 7-1. • and A strategic business unit (SBU) is a distinct business, with its own set of competitors, that can be managed reasonably independently of other businesses within the organisation The distinction between corporate-level and business-level strategy applies only to organisations with separate divisions competing in different industries. Strategies include deciding the type of competitive advantage to build, determining responses to changing conditions, allocating resources coordinating functional-level strategies. 4. Functional-level strategy focuses on action plans for managing a particular functional area within a business in a way to support business-level strategy. T34: The Importance of Strategic Management: An illustration. T35: Organisational Levels of Strategies: A summary of the three levels of strategies and their functions. • Functional areas include operations, marketing, finance, human resources management, accounting, research and development, and engineering. • Functional strategies are usually developed by functional managers and are typically reviewed by business unit heads. 5. Coordinating strategies across the three levels is critical in maximising strategic impact. II. The Role of Competitive Analysis in Strategy Formulation A. SWOT analysis is a method of an organisation's competitive situation involving assessing organisational strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), as well as environmental opportunities (0) and threats (T). 1. Strengths and weaknesses apply to internal characteristics. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-4 • Teaching Idea: Have your students do a SWOT on themselves and have them identify their strengths and weaknesses, then analyse opportunities and threats in their career field. • 2. Opportunities and threats are found in the external environment. • • T36: SWOT Analysis: The process of identifying competitive advantages. A strength is an internal characteristic with the potential of improving the organisation's competitive situation. A weakness is an internal characteristic leaving the organisation potentially vulnerable to strategic moves by competitors. An opportunity is an environmental condition offering significant prospects for improving an organisation's situation relative to competitors. A threat is an environmental condition offering significant prospects for undermining an organisation's competitive situation. B. Managers need to consider elements in the mega-environment and the task environment that can positively or adversely influence an organisation’s ability to reach its strategic goals. C. Michael E. Porter's five competitive forces model is an approach to the nature and intensity of competition in a given industry in terms of five major forces. 1. Rivalry is the extent to which competitors use tactics to lower competitors' profits. Price wars are one such tactic. A vicious price war began among the cereal manufacturer during the summer of 1996, causing major manufacturers to report significantly lower earnings. Kellogg’s, the country’s largest cereal maker reported a 43% decline in profits attributed primarily to cereal price cuts of 19 per cent. General Mills, the number two cereal maker in the country, reported slashing prices by 11 per cent to stay competitive and plant to increase box size of several cereal brands without increasing the prices. (Advertising Age, June 24, 1996, “Cereals to pare ad plans”) 2.. The bargaining power of customers is the extent to which they can force down prices or bargain for better quality or service. 3. The bargaining power of suppliers is the extent to which they can exert power over businesses in an industry by threatening to raise prices or reduce quality of goods and services provided. 4. The threat of new entrants is the threat of a price war if new competitors can enter the market. 5. The threat of substitute products or services is the extent to which businesses in other industries can offer substitute products, thus reducing the profit potential for the industry. D. An organisational assessment determines how organisational factors affect the competitive situation. 1. Internal strengths are potential sources of competitive advantage. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-5 • • T37: Corporate Strategy: Illustration of growth, stability and defensive strategies A distinctive competence is a unique strength that competitors cannot easily match or imitate. Organisational synergy is a state of affairs where two or more units working together have greater impact than is possible with the units operating independently 2. Internal weaknesses can leave the organisation vulnerable to competitor actions that will have an adverse effect on the organisation. 3. A functional audit is an exhaustive appraisal of an organisation and/or its individual businesses conducted by assessing each major functional area's important positive and negative attributes. • • III. An example is assessing currency of equipment in the operations department. Managers may assess functional areas in reference to a list of key success factors in the industry. Formulating Corporate-Level Strategy: The Grand Strategy A. A grand strategy (master strategy) provides basic strategic direction at corporate level. B. Growth strategies are grand strategies involving organisational expansion on a major dimension. 1. Concentration focuses on effecting growth of the market for a single product or service or a small number of closely related products or services. • • • Market development is gaining a larger share of a current market or expanding into new ones. Product development is improving a basic product or service or expanding into closely related products or services. Horizontal integration is adding one or more businesses that are similar, usually by purchasing such businesses. 2. Vertical integration involves effecting growth through production of inputs previously provided by suppliers or by replacement of a customer role (such as that of a distributor) by disposing of one's own outputs. • • Backward integration occurs when a business grows by becoming its own supplier. Forward integration occurs when organisational growth encompasses a role previously fulfilled by a customer. 3. Diversification entails effecting growth through development of new areas which are clearly distinct from current businesses. • • Conglomerate diversification takes place when an organisation diversifies into areas unrelated to its current business. Concentric diversification occurs when an organisation diversifies into a related, but distinct, business. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-6 4. Growth strategies can be implemented through a number of means. • • • Internal growth occurs as the organisation expands by building on its own internal resources. An acquisition is the purchase of all or part of one organisation by another. A merger is the combining of two or more companies into one organisation. C. A stability strategy is a grand strategy involves maintaining the status quo or growing in a methodical, but slow, manner. 1. Small, privately owned businesses are most likely to adopt this strategy. 2. Reasons for adopting a stability strategy are that it: • • • • Avoids the risks or hassles of aggressive growth. Provides an opportunity to recover after a period of accelerated growth. Lets the company hold on to current market share. May occur through default. D. Defensive strategies (sometimes called retrenchment strategies) focus on the desire or need to reduce organisational operations, usually through cost reductions (such as cutting back on nonessential expenditures and instituting hiring freezes) and/or asset reductions (such as selling land, equipment, and businesses). 1. Harvest entails minimising investments while attempting to maximise short-run profits and cash flow, with the long-run intention of exiting the market. 2. A turnaround is designed to reverse a negative trend and restore the organisation to appropriate levels of profitability. 3. A divestiture involves an organisation's selling or divesting of a business or part of a business. 4. Liquidation entails selling or dissolving an entire organisation. IV. Formulating Corporate-Level Strategy: Portfolio Strategy Approaches A. A portfolio strategy approach is a method of an organisation's mix of businesses in terms of both individual and collective contributions to strategic goals. 1. The concept is analogous to an individual's selecting a portfolio of stocks to achieve balance in terms of risk, long-term growth, etc. 2. Portfolio matrixes are tools to enhance thinking in terms of the mix of businesses in an organisation's portfolio. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-7 B. The BCG Growth-Share Matrix compares various businesses in an organisation's portfolio on the basis of relative market share and market growth rate. 1. Relative market share is determined by the ratio of a business's market share compared with market share of its largest rival. T38: BCG Growth-Share Matrix: The matrix. See Figure 7-4. 2. Market growth rate is the growth in the market during the previous year relative to growth in the whole economy. 3. Strategic business units plotted on the BCG matrix can be categorised. • • • • The star has a high market share in a rapidly growing market. A question mark (or problem child) has a low market share in a rapidly growing market. The cash cow has a high market share in a slowly growing market. A dog has a low market share in an area of low growth. 4. Strategies are suggested by the SBU's position on the matrix. • • Use funds from cash cows to fund stars and possibly question marks. Divest dogs and less desirable question marks. 5. The BCG matrix is useful in viewing businesses as a portfolio with differing cash flows and requirements and in allocating resource. T39: GE Business Screen: The business screen. T40: Product/Market Evolution Matrix: The matrix. See Figure 7-5. 6. Its shortcomings include the fact that it does not directly pertain to the majority of businesses that have an average market share in markets of average growth, generalisations based on the matrix may be misleading because organisations with low market share are not necessarily question marks (e.g. Mercedes automobiles), businesses with high market shares in slow growth markets may still need substantial investments, the matrix doesn’t help determine which question marks to back and which dogs to divest, and some manager do not like the terminology (especially ‘dog’). C. The GE business screen (also called the GE planning grid) is a nine-cell matrix based on long-term industry attractiveness and on business strength. 1. Each business is represented by a circle, with the size of the circle proportional to the size of the industry. The pie slice shows the business’s marketshare within the industry. 2. For SBUs in situations of long-term industry attractiveness and business strength, the strategic prescription is grow and build. 3. For SBUs in situations of relatively low industry attractiveness and weak business strength, the strategy is harvest and/or divest. 4. For all others, the strategy is hold and maintain. D. The product/market evolution matrix (or the life-cycle portfolio matrix) is a 15cell matrix in which businesses are plotted according to the business unit's IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-8 Teaching Idea: Have students search Business Review Weekly and other business journals for examples of companies that were successful or unsuccessful in implementing strategy. business strengths or competitive position, and the industry's stage in the evolutionary product/market life cycle. 1. The meaning of the circles is the same as in the GE business screen. 2. An industry is said to have reached maturity when growth slows and the market moves toward the saturation point, where demand is limited to replacement of the product or service. V. Formulating Business-Level Strategy A. Business-level strategies provide advice about specific strategies for various businesses. B. Michael E. Porter has developed three generic business-level strategies. 1. A cost leadership strategy emphasises organisational efficiency so overall costs of providing products and services are lower than those of competitors. • • The business should have a cost advantage not easily or inexpensively imitated. Managers should consider making those product or service innovations most important to customers. 2. A differentiation strategy involves attempting to develop products and services viewed as unique in the industry. • • Differentiation may occur in brand image, technology, customer service, features, quality, and selection. Costs are not as important as product or service uniqueness. 3. A focus strategy entails specialising by establishing a position of overall cost leadership, differentiation, or both, but only within a particular portion, or segment, of an entire market. C. Although Porter maintains differentiation and low-cost strategies are ineffective in broad markets, there is some evidence to the contrary. VI. Formulating Functional-Level Strategy A. Strategies at the functional level are important in supporting a business-level strategy. B. Functional areas develop the distinctive competencies leading to potential competitive advantages. VII. Strategy Implementation A. Strategy implementation includes various management activities necessary to put the strategy in motion, institute strategic controls to monitor progress, and ultimately achieve organisation goals. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-9 Teaching Idea: The Enterprise video, Dogfight Over New York, is a documentary of strategic moves and countermoves, available through McGraw-Hill. B. Managers need to synchronise major organisational factors to put a chosen strategy into action. 1. Technology is the knowledge, tools, equipment, and work techniques used by an organisation in delivering its product or service 2. Human resources are the individuals who are members of the organisation. 3. Reward systems include bonuses, awards, or promotions provided by others, and rewards related to internal experiences, such as feelings of achievement and challenge. 4. Decision processes include the means of resolving questions and problems occurring in organisations. 5. Organisation structure is the formal pattern of interactions and coordination designed by management to link tasks of individuals and groups in achieving organisational goals. C. Managers need to be able to monitor progress through strategic control. 1 . Strategic control involves monitoring critical environmental factors that could affect the viability of strategic plans, assessing the effects of organisational strategic actions, and ensuring that strategic plans are implemented as intended. 2. Strategic control systems include information systems providing feedback on strategic plan implementation and effectiveness. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-10 IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-11 LEARNING OBJECTIVES REVISITED 1. Explain the concept of strategic management and identify three main levels of strategy. Strategic management is a managerial process of formulating and implementing strategies geared to optimise strategic goal achievement, given available environmental and internal conditions. 2. Outline the major components of the strategic management process. The strategic management process comprises several components. Strategy formulation is the part of strategic management process which includes identifying the mission and strategic goals, conducting competitive analysis and developing specific strategies. Strategy implementation is part of the strategic management process focusing on carrying out strategic plans and maintaining control over how those plans are carried out. 3. Describe the role of competitive analysis in strategy formulation and the major approaches to such analysis. Porter's Five Competitive Forces model is an approach to the nature and intensity of competition in a given industry in terms of five major forces. The model provides an environmental assessment of strategically significant elements of the organisation's task environment. Rivalry is the extent to which competitors use tactics to lower competitors' profits. The bargaining power of customers is the extent to which they can force down prices or bargain for better quality or service. The bargaining power of suppliers is the extent to which they can exert power over businesses in an industry by threatening to raise prices or to reduce quality of goods and services provided. The threat of new entrants is the threat of a price war if new competitors enter the market. The threat of substitute products or services is the extent to which businesses in other industries offer substitute products, thus reducing the industry's profit potential. 4. Enumerate the main generic strategies available at the corporate level. Growth strategies are grand strategies involving organisational expansion along a major dimension. Concentration focuses on achieving growth of a single product or service or a small number of closely related products of services. Horizontal integration is adding one or more similar businesses, usually by purchasing them. Vertical integration involves achieving growth through production of inputs previously provided by suppliers or through the replacement of a customer role (such as distributor) by disposing of one's own outputs. Diversification entails achieving growth through the development of new areas clearly distinct from current businesses. 5. Explain the three major portfolio-strategy approaches for use at the corporate level. A stability strategy is a grand strategy, involving maintaining the status quo or growing in a methodical manner. Defensive strategies (or retrenchment strategies) focus on the desire or need to reduce organisational operations, usually through reducing costs (by cutting back on nonessential expenditures and instituting hiring freezes) and asset reductions (selling land, equipment and businesses). Harvest entails minimising investments while attempting to maximise short-run profits and cash flow with the long-run intention of exiting the market. A turnaround is designed to reverse a negative trend and restore the organisation to appropriate profitability levels. A divestiture involves an organisation's selling or divesting of a business or part of a business. Liquidation entails selling or dissolving an entire organisation. A portfolio strategy approach is a method of an organisation's business mix in terms of both individual and collective contributions to strategic goals. The BCG Growth-Share Matrix compares various businesses in an organisation's portfolio on the basis of relative market share and market growth rate. The GE business screen (also called the GE planning grid) is a nine-cell matrix based on long-term industry attractiveness and business strength. The product/market evolution matrix (the life-cycle portfolio matrix) is a 15-cell matrix in which businesses are plotted according to the business unit's business strengths or competitive position, and the industry's stage in the evolutionary product/market life cycle. 6. Describe Porter’s competitive strategies for the business level. Porter's Five Competitive Forces model is an approach to the nature and intensity of competition in a given industry in terms of five major forces. The model provides an environmental assessment of strategically significant elements of the organisation's task environment. Rivalry is the extent to which competitors use tactics to lower competitors' profits. The bargaining power of customers is the extent to which they can force down prices or bargain for better quality or service. The bargaining power of suppliers is the extent to which they can exert power over businesses in IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-12 an industry by threatening to raise prices or to reduce quality of goods and services provided. The threat of new entrants is the threat of a price war if new competitors enter the market. The threat of substitute products or services is the extent to which businesses in other industries offer substitute products, thus reducing the industry's profit potential. 7. Explain the role of strategies at the functional level. Strategies at the functional level are important in supporting a business-level strategy. Functional areas develop distinctive competencies leading to potential competitive advantages 8. Outline the process of strategy implementation. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-13 Strategy implementation includes the management activities needed to put the strategy in motion, to institute strategic controls monitoring progress, and ultimately to achieve organisation goals. Managers must synchronise major factors within an organisation to put a chosen strategy into action. Managers must be able to monitor progress through strategic control. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-14 IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-15 IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-16 ENRICHMENT MODULE GLOBAL STRATEGY Robert N. Lussier This module presents a corporate global grand strategy. Its focus is primarily on the "Formulating Corporate-Level Strategy" section of the text. However, it also refers to the "Formulating Business-Level Strategy" section as it discusses the importance of coordinating strategy at all levels. The global grand strategy has four components: 1) global sales, 2) global products, 3) global introduction of products, and 4) global operations. Corporate Global Grand Strategy Successful global companies realise that they must pit their entire resources against competitors in a highly integrated way on a worldwide basis. Success in the world market requires a centralised global grand strategy with various aspects of operations decentralised or centralised as economics and effectiveness dictate. Global companies seek to respond to particular local market needs of strategic business units while avoiding a compromise of efficiency of the overall global system (Bolt, 1988). Headquarters and the country managers must work together as a team to coordinate plans at all three levels. With slow growth in most U.S. industries and the expanding world economy, many companies are developing global growth strategies. Some of the companies successfully using global strategic management include IBM in computers; Caterpillar in large construction equipment, Timex, Seiko, and Citizen in watches; Mitsubishi in heavy electrical equipment; and General Electric in a variety of industries (Ohmae. 1987). the global triad—the U.S., Europe, and Japan (Ohmae, 1987). GE has a strategy of having only strategic business units that are number one, or a strong second, in global sales. Under Jack Welch in the 1980s, GE combined a defensive strategy, liquidating over 118 lines of business, with a growth strategy, acquiring over 50 others. Global companies centralise product design to develop global products. The production process is standardised worldwide to ensure economies of scale. However, each strategic business unit can make brand, package, and distribution changes to adapt to local markets. The production and finance functions tend to be centralised, whereas the marketing function tends to be more decentralised. The amount of decentralisation varies. A study by Whirlpool revealed that appliances all over the world, despite differences in consumer preferences, are basically alike In working components. Based on the study, Whirlpool is designing global products with global components sources, with minor changes for local preferences. Global sales is one of the most, if not the most, difficult strategic implementations for most companies. For small and midsized companies, as well as many large companies, it takes many years to get extensive sales in the global triad. To increase global sales, many companies have acquired or merged with other companies, or entered :Into coalitions. AT&T joining with Olivetti and Philips in Europe and Toshiba in Japan would be a triad example. Because of the global similarities, many products do not need to be localised at all, or can be localised Global Products with only minor changes to satisfy Successful global companies view the taste differences. Gillette is using a U.S., Europe, and Japan as one glo- centralised marketing approach with bal market, not three. They its Sensor razor. All countries use accentuate the similarities of humans the same theme, "The best a man can across the global triad, rather than get." Gillette's global commercials emphasise differences. With for Sensor ran virtually unaltered in The four components of a global comparable income levels, education 19 countries. Other global products strategy are discussed below. levels, academic and cultural include Nike sneakers, L.L. Bean backgrounds, lifestyles, and access to clothes, and Wilson, Price and Head information and travel, Americans, sporting goods. Global Sales One will find Europeans, and Japanese are be- Johnson's window cleaner, Pampers Strong global companies have coming more and more alike. They disposable diapers, Scotties and extensive sales and market share in want the same products. Kleenex tissues, Lux soap, Cheer de- IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-17 tergent, Nestle’ coffee, Lipton tea, recorder; Canon, the AE1 camera; and Campbell soup in supermarkets and Gillette, the Sensor razor. around the globe. Upjohn created Upjohn Laboratories to create and market global products simultaneously. The "first mover" Global Introduction of Products companies that deliver global Successful global companies products the fastest will have the introduce new products competitive advantage Of being the simultaneously on a global basis. world leaders, at least in the short Many companies have learned the run. hard way that introducing a product in one country, then bringing it to Global Operations another country, limits global success. When an American company Major global companies have introduces a product in the U.S., the operating facilities throughout the Japanese are watching. They quickly world. They are not true exporters. copy the product, and introduce it in They realise that a local presence Japan before the American company decreases political and exchange-rate Export firms are often can. The American company then risks. perceived as invaders and face loses its leadership position in Japan. protectionism and import restrictions U.S. companies are now using the and they find the doors to markets same approach by going to Europe closed. A true insider will remain and Japan for new product ideas. open in the country while fellowCompanies using global introduction country export companies are and their respective products include excluded. Sony, the Walkman mobile cassette Europe in 1992 is looking for operations in the European Community, not imports. Japan and the U.S. have been investing heavily throughout the European Community. There have been thousands of joint ventures, acquisitions, and mergers in Europe in preparation for 1992. Whirlpool and Philips are one example. (Note: For more details on this topic see Enrichment Lecture Module "Joint Venture in the Soviet Union.") To establish a local presence, European, Japanese, and U.S. companies are investing abroad. In 1987, all foreigners invested about $35 billion in American businesses and real estate, with the British in the lead. American companies invested at least $50 billion in their subsidiaries and affiliates abroad, especially in Europe (Drucker, 1989). In 1988, Japan invested over $47 billion overseas in factories, real estate, and companies (Main, 1989). Sources Bolt, J., 1988, "Global Competitors: Some Criteria for Success," Business Horizons, January/February, p.35. Drucker, P., 1989, “The New World According to Drucker," Business Month, May, p.54. Main, J., 1989, "How To Go Global--And Why," Fortune, August 28. Ohmae, K., 1987, "The Triad World View", The Journal of Business Strategy, Spring, p. 1 3. Porter, M., 1986, 'Changing Patterns of International Competition," California Management Review, Winter The Global 1000,Business Week, July 17,1989, p.144. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-18 CASE NOTES Striving for excellence This segment of the on-going case talks about goal congruence and external and internal strategy fit. Students can identify the internal and external stakeholders of Autoliv and find out what internal strategies the organisation has to adopt in order to support the external strategies. Students could discuss the concept of self-managed teams and how they assist in achieving organisational goals. Issues like organisational culture can also be discussed here. Students can further discuss the role of leadership in ensuring the external and internal strategic fit. Gaining the edge: Coming back to call back 1 Carry out some research on call back centers and compare their rates with those of Telstra for IDD calls. In what ways are call centers a successful competitor to long distance providers? This particular can be discussed as a debate where students can argue for and against “technological innovation is a necessary evil” or by using Porter’s Five Forces to discuss the issues. Investment in call centres in terms of technology and manpower is much less than long distance providers. Regulations binding the call centres as opposed to long distance providers are more flexible. Pricing of service rendered by call centres will be lower as opposed to long distance providers. Case in Point: The Pavlova Kitchen 1. Develop a suitable mission statement for The Pavlova Kitchen and a manufacturing policy plus a SWOT analysis leading to appropriate strategies. In order to do this you will need to do a bit of research on the product. Develop a plan to enable you to carry out this task. This question can be linked to the mission statements students come up with in the first question. The strategic plans should be linked with the mission statement. Students need to first set the goals at the strategic level, in other words, who are the stakeholders of Pavlova Kitchen, then students can start looking at marketing strategies and production and finance strategies. Issues like size of the business, number of employees, existing systems and processes need to be identified. Then the strengths and weaknesses of the existing systems need to be described. Students can answer the question by splitting the class into four groups where one group could be the senior management, the second group the middle level management and the third group as the functional level. The fourth group can be the stakeholders. This question is very appropriate for a group discussion. What are the main problems which face the owners of the business? 2. Develop a strategic plan for this organisation which will enable them to meet their goals. Small businesses have many issues to deal with in order to survive. In this case the size, the product is seasonal and demand is fluctuating with the result the business growth is not steady. Diversification therefore becomes restricted. Secondly, customer demand for the product may vary in the future with their changing lifestyle. Financial constraints will also be there as the size of the business is small. 3. What are the main problems which face the owners of this business? Outsourcing of pavlova manufacture could be one strategy, increase the capacity utilisation of the manufacturing equipment, look at alternative methods of preservation and production. Depending on the international demand, the Millars could open overseas production sites which will devolve the production function. 4. How can the owners satisfy market demand for their products without working excessive hours during the peak season? Quality is dependent on the production standards, the equipment, the manufacturing process involved in the making of the pavlovas is very dependent on temperature, and following the sequential steps etc. 5. What are the main aspects of quality management in this company and how could they be controlled? IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-19 Look at byproducts which can be a diversification strategy for the company, look at selling them to other businesses which are similar to this business. Cross Roads: Cuisine-Fast food style Decision Point: 1. What are the factors which, if you were the managing director of Cuisine Courier, Matt Whitnall, you might have wanted to consider before you committed yourself to such an expansion? Students here need to look at the impact of technological change on the service provided. Some of the factors that need to be considered from the CEOs perspective are the level of technology that currently exists in the company. In other words, what is the capacity of the current computer systems in the organisation. What is current status of the manpower of the computer department. Students can look at the issues like skill levels, number of employees, experience, current problems etc. Other factors include financial status of the company, whether the company is in a position to take on this investment. Issues like after sales service need to be considered. Investments in setting up the procedures, and training the staff to handle internet sales is important. Reflection Point 1. In your opinion is fast food home delivered via the internet a good idea? Why? It has its own advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include quick delivery, on line changes made to serve the customers. Disadvantages include computer breakdown due to power fluctuations, lack of computer skills amongst the employees manning the computer The Reflective Practitioner The managing director’s diary is a reflection on how the leader in an organisation or the manager in an organisation is responsible for deployment of the strategic objectives down the hierarchy. The stakeholders of the organisation should be taken into account when setting the strategic objectives. In addition, the vision and the mission statement are equally important. Students should also look into the influence of structure and culture in the setting the objectives. Issues like to what extent does the strategic objectives influence the allocation of tasks and the creation of the culture in the workplace? Students can also discuss the inter-links between strategy structure and culture and the role of leadership in the integration. The subordinate’s log reflects the role of a supervisor in the strategic management process. For an organisation to achieve its vision it is imperative that the goals and objectives are communicated down the line uniformly. Business and functional level objectives need to realistic and operational. Problems in achieving the strategic goals occur when there is a gap between the strategic goals and operative goals. Therefore communication plays a vital role in the filtration of the goals and objectives. At the functional level the organisational structure is very important in terms of task allocation, establishing the job expectation, responsibilities and accountabilities. Therefore, it is very important that the strategic objectives are clearly communicated down the line and the systems and processes adopted by the organisation should support the strategic objectives. On the Rim—in Australia: The Strategic Development of Melba's Chocolate Factory 1. Describe the evolution of the strategic types which the Foristals have used. The case is a classic example of how the external environment impacts on internal changes in the organisation fostering innovation. Students could use Porter’s competitive strategies to analyse the case. For example, cost leadership strategy has been achieved by Melba’s by being an owner operator in a cottage industry. In other words, costs of the products were kept down by using relatively inexpensive method for producing personalised logo moulds with few overheads. In addition, technological innovation like creating a mould for the personalised chocolates differentiated it from the only other known producer’s method. Focus strategy was adopted when Graeme decided to become an entrepreneur. Students here could define the meaning of entrepreneurship and differentiate it from intrapreneurship. Changes in the external economic environment like the recession created opportunities for growth. This enabled them to adopt a differentiation strategy. Like expansion into floral cashell and sugar tableted lines, IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-20 promotion into tourism. The shift from focus to differentiation involved covering a wide range of old fashioned products like truffles, hand dipped lines of snowballs and biscuits were developed. Students could further identify some of the differentiation strategies adopted by Melba’s in response to the changing environment. While students could look at corporate strategies using Porter’s model, they could also look at some the functional level strategies which Melba’s adopted in order to complement the corporate level strategies. Some of the functional level strategies included restructuring in terms of task allocation, delegation of authority and responsibility. 2. Perform a SWOT analysis for the organisation as it exists today and discuss a number of strategies they might use to further expand their operations. Firstly, students should be able to define the term SWOT. Strengths could include: Leadership abilities of Joy and Graeme, market image of Melba’s, relationship with external stakeholders, product pricing, their international links. Its historical disposition, size and historical nature of Melbas building, historical equipment and historical confectionery lines. Weaknesses: very industry specific, small business, no appropriate person to manage the show, growth has been instant and not steady. Opportunities: for collaboration in the future with similar companies, look at growth in other states in Australia, diversify into international markets by starting production overseas, diversification even in terms of other confectionery products like biscuits, cookies, ice-creams etc. Threats: Possibility of takeover by large corporations, keeping an edge over competitors in terms of pricing and quality, stakeholders satisfaction. Some of the strategies could include collaboration with foreign subsidiaries, sales offices across continents, look at sporting events and catering to other special events, holding confectionery fairs. 3. In order to become even more “hands-off”, what are the activities which the Foristals might need to shed? How do you suggest they achieve this and not lose control of their organisation? Restructuring in terms of having clear cut roles and responsibilities amongst employees. A separate HRM departments needs to formed which has the responsibility for work cover, O&HS, on the job training on supervisory skills is required on an ongoing basis, procedure manuals have to be in place, systems and procedure controls have to be in place. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-21 SOLUTIONS TO QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REVIEW Chapter Seven discussion focuses on the application of strategic thinking to the real world. Such application is best shown through cases, or detailed applications of theory to a specific example. Be thorough with each example or answer supplied by students. Students will often accept a specific example, but the instructor's task is to help them generalise to new examples. Emphasise that a single situation may have multiple answers (why we have horse races), but that the theory helps limit the range of answers. 1. Explain the concept of strategic management and the notion of competitive advantage. Identify an organisation you think has a competitive advantage in its industry, and describe the nature of its competitive advantage. Strategic management is a managerial process of formulating and implementing strategies geared to optimise strategic goal achievement, given available environmental and internal conditions. Strategies are large-scale action plans for interacting with the environment to achieve long term goals. Most wellrun organisations attempt to develop and follow strategies. 2. Outline the major components of the strategic management process. Explain why engaging in strategic management is likely to be beneficial for an organisation. The strategic management process comprises several components. Strategy formulation is the part of strategic management process which includes identifying the mission and strategic goals, conducting competitive analysis and developing specific strategies. Strategy implementation is part of the strategic management process focusing on carrying out strategic plans and maintaining control over how those plans are carried out. 3. Distinguish between three levels of strategy. Explain the role of each in an organisation with separate divisions competing in different industries. In the entrepreneurial model, strategy is developed mainly by a strong, visionary chief executive who actively searches for new opportunities, is heavily oriented toward growth, and is willing to make bold decisions or to shift strategies rapidly when desirable. The adaptive mode is mainly a "muddling through" approach, emphasising taking small incremental steps, reacting to problems instead of seeking opportunities, and attempting to satisfy several organisational power groups. The planning mode of strategy formulation involves systematic, comprehensive analysis, with integration of various decisions and strategies. 4. Explain SWOT analysis. Conduct a brief SWOT analysis of your institution by developing two items for each of the four SWOT categories. SWOT analysis is a method of an organisation's competitive situation by assessing organisational strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), as well as environmental opportunities (0) and threats (T). 5. Outline Porter's five competitive forces model. Use the model to assess the nature and intensity of competition in an industry with which you are familiar. Porter's Five Competitive Forces model is an approach to the nature and intensity of competition in a given industry in terms of five major forces. The model provides an environmental assessment of strategically significant elements of the organisation's task environment. Rivalry is the extent to which competitors use tactics to lower competitors' profits. The bargaining power of customers is the extent to which they can force down prices or bargain for better quality or service. The bargaining power of suppliers is the extent to which they can exert power over businesses in an industry by threatening to raise prices or to reduce quality of goods and services provided. The threat of new entrants is the threat of a price war if new competitors enter the market. The threat of substitute products or services is the extent to which businesses in other industries offer substitute products, thus reducing the industry's profit potential. 6. Explain how the resource-based strategic view can be used to aid organisational assessment. Use the view to assess an organisation's resources and capabilities in the industry you analysed in the previous question IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-22 In the resource-based strategic view, the following factors are used to make an assessment of the organisation: Value: Do a firm’s resources and capabilities add value by enabling it to explore opportunities and/or neutralise threats? Rareness: How many competing firms already possess these valuable resources and capabilities? Imitability: Do firms without a resource or capability face a cost disadvantage in obtaining it compared to firms which already possess it? Organisation: Is a firm organised to exploit the full competitive potential of its resources and capabilities? 7. Describe three major generic strategies available at corporate level, and explain subcategories within each. For each generic strategy, identify an organisation appearing to pursue that particular strategy. Growth strategies are grand strategies involving organisational expansion along a major dimension. Concentration focuses on achieving growth of a single product or service or a small number of closely related products of services. Horizontal integration is adding one or more similar businesses, usually by purchasing them. Vertical integration involves achieving growth through production of inputs previously provided by suppliers or through the replacement of a customer role (such as distributor) by disposing of one's own outputs. Diversification entails achieving growth through the development of new areas clearly distinct from current businesses. 8. Contrast two major approaches to portfolio strategy at corporate level. If you were on the strategic planning staff of a major company with 35 different businesses, which approach would you recommend and why? A stability strategy is a grand strategy, involving maintaining the status quo or growing in a methodical manner. Defensive strategies (or retrenchment strategies) focus on the desire or need to reduce organisational operations, usually through reducing costs (by cutting back on nonessential expenditures and instituting hiring freezes) and asset reductions (selling land, equipment and businesses). Harvest entails minimising investments while attempting to maximise short-run profits and cash flow with the long-run intention of exiting the market. A turnaround is designed to reverse a negative trend and restore the organisation to appropriate profitability levels. A divestiture involves an organisation's selling or divesting of a business or part of a business. Liquidation entails selling or dissolving an entire organisation. A portfolio strategy approach is a method of an organisation's business mix in terms of both individual and collective contributions to strategic goals. The BCG Growth-Share Matrix compares various businesses in an organisation's portfolio on the basis of relative market share and market growth rate. The GE business screen (also called the GE planning grid) is a nine-cell matrix based on longterm industry attractiveness and business strength. The product/market evolution matrix (the life-cycle portfolio matrix) is a 15-cell matrix in which businesses are plotted according to the business unit's business strengths or competitive position, and the industry's stage in the evolutionary product/market life cycle. 9. Describe Porter's competitive strategies for the business level. Assess the competitive strategy of an organisation with which you are familiar, and explain its usefulness in dealing with Porter's five competitive forces. Michael E. Porter has developed three generic business-level strategies. A cost leadership strategy involves emphasising organisational efficiency so overall costs of providing products and services are lower than competitors'. A differentiation strategy involves attempting to develop products and services viewed as unique in the industry. A focus strategy entails specialising by establishing a position of overall cost leadership, differentiation, or both, but only within a particular portion, or segment of an entire market. 10. Outline the process of strategy implementation. Which corporate-level generic strategy do you believe is being pursued by your college or university? Evaluate the effectiveness of strategy implementation at your college or university. Strategy implementation includes the management activities needed to put the strategy in motion, to institute strategic controls monitoring progress, and ultimately to achieve organisation goals. Managers must synchronise major factors within an organisation to put a chosen strategy into action. Managers must be able to monitor progress through strategic control. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-23 EXERCISES FOR MANAGING IN THE 21st CENTURY EXERCISE 2 SKILL BUILDING EXERCISE: WHAT STRATEGY IS THIS? Overview Students are provided with characteristics of different company strategies They are asked to select strategies that different characteristics could be expected to support according to Porter: cost leadership, differentiation, or focus. Objectives To provide students the opportunity to gain skills in identifying different types of strategies. To help students learn the difference between cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies. Suggested Time Schedule Introducing the exercise Classifying strategies Class discussion Total 5 minutes 10 minutes 10 minutes 25 minutes Solutions 1. Differentiation 2. Differentiation 3. Focus 4. Cost Leadership 5. Focus 6. Differentiation 7. Cost Leadership 8. Focus 9. Differentiation 10. Cost Leadership EXERCISE 2 MANAGEMENT EXERCISE: DEVELOPING A STRATEGY FOR A COUNTRY SCHOOL IN NSW. Objective Experience with: developing a grand strategy, using a portfolio strategy analysis, and using Porter's generic business strategies. Suggested time schedule Introduce exercise and form groups Developing a grand strategy and using portfolio strategy analysis Applying Porter’s generic business strategy Small group reports Total 5 minutes 15 minutes 10 minutes 20 minutes 50 minutes IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-21 Operating Suggestions With this exercise, expect a variety of analytical approaches and strategic choices from your students. As a result, this exercise is probably best used as a written assignment rather than as an in-class project. It can be done individually or in small groups. To focus student efforts, give them a brief outline of what you expect. For example: Grand Strategy: one page. Specify your grand strategy and explain why you chose it. Business Selection: two to three pages. Do a portfolio analysis of the businesses available for acquisition as well as setting up. Specify what two you would do, and explain why. Business Level Strategies: one page for each possible business. Using Porter's generic strategies, develop a strategy for each new concept and explain why you think it will be successful. SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISE 1: SHORT INTERACTIVE USING THE BCG MATRIX Write the information about each of the four businesses described below on an overhead or on the board (Do not write the answers, which are given in parentheses). Then read the following three sentences to the students: “Assume you are a consultant and have been called into a local company, Black & Blake, to help them classify their existing businesses on the BCG Matrix. The company's business are mainly related to the health care industry. How would you classify the following businesses on the matrix?” Have them write down their classification of each business. Then ask for volunteers to give their answers and their reasoning. The four businesses to be classified are as follows: QUESTION MARK Business has patent for new type of cast that makes it easier to set broken bones accurately. Current market share is small, but with the right marketing push, prospects for growth are good. CASH COW Business makes a well-known hospital bed and has a large market share. The technology is stable and the business is highly profitable, but growth is slow because relatively few new hospitals are being built these days. DOG Business makes disinfectants and other cleaning materials used particularly in hospitals. Market share is small. STAR Business has most of current market for artificial veins and arteries made out of revolutionary new patented material. Many areas for growth, including heart surgery. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-22 SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISE 2: EXPERIENTIAL PROFILING A LOCAL BUSINESS Objective To determine whether local businesses use strategic management methods, and ff so, how effective they are. Experience 1. Students will discover how familiar practicing managers are with strategic management techniques. 2. They will then analyze the positive and negative factors related to the level of strategic management they observe. 3. Finally, they will devise a general statement regarding the usefulness of strategic management to ongoing businesses. Material Writing materials and local business managers who are willing to talk with students. Procedure 1 Divide into groups of four to five. Based on the group members' understanding of the text material, write out a profile of the strategic management process that you would expect to find a strategic manager engaged in. Refer to your text discussion of "The Strategic Management Process" to develop your expected profile. Also add aspects of SWOT analysis (as described in the text) as well as aspects of Porter's generic strategies (overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus). Procedure 2 Arrange an appointment with a local small business manager, meet this person (please be prompt), and use your profile as a basis for your interview. Do not be surprised if the manager does not know what strategic management methods are. Unfortunately, this may be true of many businesses. Sometimes too, managers use some of the same concepts, but may use different terms to describe them. So be sure to listen carefully. If necessary, ask some general questions about how the manager makes plans to be successful and move ahead of the competition. If it appears that the manager does not do any strategic management, be careful not to criticise. Procedure 3 Reconvene your group and compare the results of your interview with your profile. Select a spokesperson to give a brief report of your findings (along with the findings of other groups) to the class in a general class discussion. Group Questions What factors can you see that lead practicing business managers to either 1) use strategic management tools, or 2) not use strategic management tools? What is the advantage of practicing strategic management? Can you see areas of business practice that either 1) benefit from the use of strategic management, or 2) create problems because of the lack of strategic management? Does the local business manager understand the importance of Porter's generic strategies? IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-23 Class Questions 1. Does strategic management make sense? Why, or why not? 2. What constraints exist that inhibit practicing managers from using strategic management methods? 3. In looking at the businesses students visited, what specific positive outcomes could result from strategic management? Why? 4. What must happen for the managers interviewed by the students to begin strategic management? Conclusion The course instructor will summarise the results of the various group reports and the general discussion, and tie the findings to the text material. Reinforcement What did I learn from this experience? How will I use this knowledge in the future? Teaching Notes Operating Suggestions This particular exercise gives students an idea of how critical strategic management is in businesses. By interviewing a small business owner or manager, they will discover just how much this person knows (or more often than not, does not know) about the strategic management process. Begin by dividing the class into smaller groups of four to five, and give each group the assignment of contacting a local small business and setting up an appointment for an interview of no more than one-half hour. Students should be strongly encouraged to be prompt. Before the appointment, the students should meet as a group to formulate a profile of "good" strategic management and questions which will test this profile. Instruct the students to be sure that all the questions are asked during the interview, but other questions may be asked if time permits. Caution them not to react with direct or implied criticism if the manager does not appear to know much about or use strategic management. Students should keep to the half-hour time frame. After the interviews, instruct students to reconvene to discuss whether the interview results match their profile and to analyse these findings for a class discussion. Reconvene the class and discuss (via a spokesperson for each group) each group's profile of a "good" strategic management process, what the group found, and what the group can conclude about the company interviewed. Timing for the exercise should approximate the following: 30 minutes for groups to develop profiles (in or outside class) 1 hour travel and interview time (out of class) 30 minutes to summarise group findings (in or outside class) 30 minutes for in-class discussion Discussion Each group should have two important things when they have completed their interview and discussions: 1) a profile of what a well-run strategic management program might look like, and 2) a profile of a real-world business, which most likely does not fit the profile very well. While this lack of “fit” does not necessarily mean that the business is in imminent danger, it may point to problem areas which may need attention to prevent serious trouble for the company. The major task of the in-class discussion will be to tie the interview outcomes to the text presentation of sound strategic management principles and to see whether any prescriptive measures might be recommended to the small business person along with why these measures should improve the operations and longevity of the enterprise. Also, by having a variety of companies to discuss in the in-class discussion, you may be able to pick out trends of business activities that are either good or bad in terms of strategic management objectives, and you should be able to make a good case for the importance of practicing strategic management methods for productive, profitable, and successful enterprises. IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-24 IRM t/a Bartol et al: Management: A Pacific Rim Focus 3e © 2001 McGraw-Hill Book Co Aust Pty Ltd, page 7-25
© Copyright 2025 Paperzz